Zamorodna

Zamorodnian Hetmanate Замородинський гетьманство
Flag Emblem
Map of Zamorodna and its stanytsy
Capital	Kostyanopol
Official languages	Zamorodnian
Ethnic groups	Kvors (73.1%) Staryzamians (7.3%) Baderians (6.4%) Luds (6.0%) Finns (5.1%) Ostrozavans (1.3%) Others (<1%)
Religion	Judaism (45.4%) Docetic Nazarism (21.7%) Aletheic Nazarism (11.4%) Alban Nazarism (11.0%) None (10.4%) Others (<1%)
Demonym(s)	Zamorodnian
Government	Confederal minarchist elected autocracy
• Hetman	Oleh Bohdanuk Petrenko
• Koshovyy Otaman	Volodymyr Matvyyuk Nesterenko
Legislature	Starshyna Rada
Establishment
• Great Kvor Migration	1332-1352 CE
• Independence	1771 CE
Area
• Total	147,136 km2 (56,810 sq mi)
• Water (%)	6.8
Population
• Estimate	14,293,012 (2021)
• Density	97.14/km2 (251.6/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$140.1 billion (2021)
• Per capita	$9,805.27
Gini	39.9 medium
HDI	0.66 medium
Currency	Hrysh (₴) (ZHR)
Date format	yyyy-mm-dd (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+443
Internet TLD	.zam

The Zamorodnian Hetmanate (Zamorodnian: Zamorodyns'kyy Het'manstvo), also known as Zamorodna or Zamorodina, is a small, landlocked nation in northern Belisaria. It is bordered to the north and west by Pueramaa, to the east by Velikoslavia, and to the south by Ostrozava. Zamorodna is the homeland of the Kvors; descendants of the Qavar peoples who migrated westward from West Ochran in the high middle ages. Forming a host under the sovereignty of the Principality of Kovno, the Kvors conquered the region of Zamorodna, a swampy lowland region on the eastern edge of the central Belisarian plain, delineated to the south by the Bardia Mountains. The Kvor Host formed a distinct political entity within the Tsardom of Velikoslavia until the Thirty Years War when the Host won its independence, forming an independent Zamorodnian Hetmanate.

In the present day, Zamorodna is a culturally integrated but politically disunified entity. The various constituent polities of the Hetmanate, the stanytsy, have varying degrees of authoritarian or democratic and capitalist or socialist elements. As such, the stanytsy can often be isolationist, particularly from very different neighbours. However, the unified culture, language, and traditions of the Kvors tie the stanytsy together.

Zamorodna has a partially autarkous economy but is moderately-to-poorly industrialized. Approximately one-third of the population are traditional pastoralists. Mining and other resource extraction are growing industries and leading sectors in the export economy. Domestically, economic figures can be difficult to ascertain due to limited governmental oversight and a widespread informal economy.

Name

The name of Zamorodna is inconsistently associated with the Kvor peoples who inhabit it. The term originally referred to the land before the Kvor hosts arrived and occupied it. Since then, however, it has come to refer more specifically to both the ethnic Kvors living on the land and their language. The remaining groups who identify with the original population of the region are referred to as the Staryzamians. The Zamorodnian language is distinct from that which was spoken by the first migrant Kvors, drawing heavily from the Ludic language of the Staryzamians.

The etymology of Zamorodna can be broken down into three components. The first component, "zam" or "sam", means "on its own", or "independent". The second component "o" is a linking element between the first and third components. The third component is etymologically uncertain and may stem from "rodna" or "rodina" and either means "fertile" or "of nature", or "homeland". Read together, "Zamorodna" has the sense of either "fertile wilderness" or "home of the free". The former is likely descriptive of the harsh marshes and swamps of the region, while the latter has been widely accepted abroad as a reference to the Staryzamians, it has since been co-opted as a reference to the Kvors. There is no academic consensus on which interpretation is more likely the original.

History

The history of Zamorodna is predominantly associated with the history of the Kvor people. The original inhabitants of the land, the Staryzamians, occupied a cultural, linguistic, and historical continuum in eastern. The region was a longtime hinterland of the Ludic principalities of the region and exchanged hands between different societies and kingdoms in antiquity and the middle ages. The migration of the Kvor significantly altered the cultural makeup of the country and redefined its history.

Pre-migration

The Qavars lived on the northwestern frontier of the disunified khanates in northwestern Ochran, distinguished from neighbouring peoples by their Jewish faith. In 1271, the growing Qavar Khaganate was ascendant, forcing the submission of various kingdoms in Western Ochran. In its process of expansion, the Khaganate assembled "mingghans" or military expeditions composed of thousands of warriors and accompanied by families and servants, capable of sustaining a campaign over large distances and durations.

The early inhabitants of Zamorodna similarly lived on the fringe of eastern Belisarian polities. Independent Ludic princes ostensibly ruled the lands in the early middle ages but began to migrate to developing urban cores and merchant principalities in the early period of the second millennium CE. The Staryzamians thus emerged as a minor but distinct group, predominantly peasants and early gentry. While the region was fertile for agriculture, marshy grounds made the creation of medieval fortifications difficult and the region was frequently contested by neighbouring states.

Early hosts and migration

Ludic siege from the Chronicle of the Kvor

The history of the Kvor migration from the Qavar Khaganate to present-day Zamorodna was written in the Chronicle of the Kvor which dates to the mid-15th century. According to the Chronicle, in late winter of 1331, a Qavar political leader named Tukar was exiled by the Khagan. In anticipation of his exile, a mingghan was assembled at the western edge of the Khaganate, which would later by known in Belisaria as the Great Kvor Host. Tukar arrived in early spring and appointed a loyal general named Kassogysh as the first Hetman of the Great Host. Hetman Kassogysh led the Qavars westward, raiding a number of petty chiefdoms in western Ochran, gathering supplies and slaves. After the winter of 1331-1332, the entire region was starved of resources and beset by disease. As the spring came, Tukar announced that the Great Host would uproot from western Ochran and head west for more fertile lands.

The Great Migration began as thousands of Qavars uprooted from their traditional nomadic routes and headed northwest, hoping to reach the waters that separate Belisaria from Ochran by winter and to cross the frozen passage on foot and on horseback. As they travelled, the Great Host was initially trailed by rival Qavar groups and the armies of the khanates, hoping to harass or steal from the raiders and to prevent them from ever returning to the region. The migrants arrived at the straits late, arriving only in February of 1333. Despite this, the Great Host attempted the crossing. Hundreds were lost falling through the thinning ice and, originally unbeknownst to the Qavars, the journey could not be completed entirely over frozen ice at their latitude. The migrants improvised wooden boats to cross over the frigid winter waters and many more were lost in this attempt as well. Despite these obstacles, a great majority of the Great Host survived the crossing and continued to the southwest in search of a better climate, though they were more cautious and slower moving than their previous breakneck speed.

In 1336, the Great Host reached the borders of the Ludic principalities. With diminished supplies and their raiders no longer in fighting shape, the Great Host was forced to barter for food and supplies, coming to prominence as a mercenary army among the principalities even as their fortunes improved. By 1350, the Great Host numbered some five thousand Kvor warriors with up to one thousand Ludic auxiliaries in tow. The Principality of Kollavik enlisted the Great Kvor Host, now under the leadership of a new Starshyy Otaman and Hetman, Ves' Ediguk and Tohtarysh Batunuk respectively, to conquer the western region of Zamorodna. At the time, Zamorodna was a swampy hinterland contested by a confederation of Ludic principalities and the independent Duchy of Baderia.

Beginning their invasion in the Spring of 1351, the Kvor hosts pillaged wooden forts and villages, scorching the earth over the next nine months. In the meanwhile, the caravan train of camp followers and Kvor civilians began to construct their own villages and towns in the eastern reaches. While Hetman Tohtarysh led the warriors against the Baderians, Starshyy Otaman Ves' was dividing up grazing lands to different hosts before the end of the year. On December 25, 1352, Hetman Tohtarysh routed the Baderians from their last holdings in Zamorodna.

Realm of Velikoslavia

Following the expulsion of the Baderians, the Great Kvor Host began to dissolve. Many of the free Kvors settled the land, establishing farm holds worked by the local Staryzamians and erecting temples. Some Kvors took on the roles of magistrates and administrators under the sovereignty of Kovno. For over 100 years, the majority of the Kvors became sedentary, though the Great Kvor Host continued to offer mercenary services to the Ludic princes in a diminished state.

Burning of the Castle of Pshenets

With the formation of the Tsardom of Velikoslavia in 1474, Zamorodna was formally incorporated as a fylke, or county, first ruled by Vissivald I, a Ludic lord. This situation was borne poorly by the free Kvors who, though several generations removed from their conquering ancestors, believed they had earned their autonomy by conquest. The situation became increasingly dire after Vissivald banned the observance of Jewish holidays in 1478, leading to armed rebellion among the Kvor who took up the banner of the Great Host and began to raid Ludic villages. This uprising continued until the intervention of the Tsar in 1481. Several smaller hosts were eradicated by the Tsar's forces and the Great Kvor Host eventually yielded to the Tsar's compromise: the Great Kvor Host would be forever dissolved and the sovereignty of a Ludic lord over Zamorodna would be accepted in exchange for a guarantee of religious freedom for Jews in the Fylke of Zamorodna.

From the 16th to 18th centuries, the status quo was maintained in Zamorodna, with a social hierarchy between the Velikoslav nobility, the Kvors, and the Staryzamian peasantry. Throughout the early modern era, however, the strictness of the hierarchy was frequently tested and considerable cultural mixing and hybridization occured. The Kvor language became increasingly Ludicized and intermarriage between Kvor and Staryzamian families complicated the relationships between freeholders and tenant farmers, blurring traditional lines.

By the second half of the 18th century, tensions between the Kvor and the Luds in the fylke had been growing, fueled in part by a romanticist Kvor movement. Romanticism for an independent Zamorodna had become a growing concern, and a number of Zamorodnian poets and writers were exiled by Velikoslav authorities in 1764. On March 18, 1770, the Thirty Years War was launched between the Tsardom of Velikoslavia and the Empire of Mesogeia. While Velikoslavia was the aggressor in the war, the mutual destruction faced by both belligerents saw Velikoslav forces drawn away from Zamorodna to fronts in the south against Mesogeia and deeper into Baderia-proper to counter Transkarminia. Taking advantage of the chaos, a number of prominent Kvor freeholders launched a coup against Lord Ingor Iskorostenov. The lord was expelled from his seat in Kostyanopol and the Treaty of Vindstokkr was swiftly signed recognizing Zamorodnian independence in exchange for neutrality in the Thirty Years War, as an extension of the Transkarminian front could have proved disastrous for the Tsardom.

Independence

The new Zamorodnian state adopted the structure of the old Kvor hosts, with an Otaman administering the domestic affairs of the people and appointing the Hetman to lead the host in war and diplomacy. The first Otaman and Hetman to hold power were Yevheny Hryshenko and Lukyan Pototsky. Domestically, Hryshenko endorsed the independence of the Kvor and presided over a period of brutality perpetrated against the Staryzamian peasants and other ethnic groups in the country. Hetman Pototsky worked to maintain the Treaty of Vindstokkr, seeking rapprochement with the embattled Velikoslav Tsardom while ultimately remaining neutral during the Thirty Years War.

By the 19th century, conventions of governance had been established, altering the known history of the Kvor hosts to adapt to the realities of modern statecraft and a sedentary society. In 1803 Koshovyy Otaman Petr Kaloyanuk Bandurysto, issued the Edict of Protection of the Peasantry, which placed limits on violence and exploitation of bonded workers. The consultative role of elders and osavuls also became formalized and in the wake of Ludvosiya's independence and the spread of liberalism westward, the selection and confirmation of the Koshovyy Otaman and Hetman was formalized as a semi-democratic process.

Local governance among the Kvor varied considerably, with some townships accepting the authority of hierarchical elders in a semi-feudal relationship. Other townships followed the examples of military warbands electing warlords while guilder towns elected mayors. In 1852, Koshovyy Otaman Asen Prokopuk Tarnyvo instituted the formalization of Zamorodnian subdivisions into 15 stanytsy (singular: "stanytsa") typified either as osavulships lead by an osavul or sovyets ruled by a council. Despite this, the internal governance of each stanytsa varied considerably and few regions followed the same conventions.

Industrialization

Despite the influences of industrialization and radical economic shifts that underpinned political liberalization through much of the world in the 19th century, Zamorodnian society in both osavulships and sovyety remained largely agrarian. In the 1880s, under the Otamanship of Taras Benduk Boyko, the first state-implementation of industrialization and mechanization was introduced.

These initiatives were opposed by a large number of free Kvor, who formed an association called the Fatherland Company, to address their concerns that mechanization would serve as an instrument for the emancipation of bonded Kvor and Staryzamian workers. Koshovyy Otaman Boyko was supported by both liberal sovyety and a large group of Docetic osavuls. The Fatherland Company was ostracized from the political establishment but wielded considerable capital. Major forms of opposition included acts of sabotage and the discouragement of foreign specialists from sharing knowledge by beating or harassment. The Fatherland Company grew in strength into the 1900s and began to hold public book burnings, destroying foreign literature and any text deemed too revolutionary. In the osavulships of Pyvdenny Bolota and Shlashkya, the Fatherland Company operated with impunity, leading to aggravation in the neighbouring sovyety of Dalekosych and Pshenytsyn.

By 1908, in part spurred on by the developing socialist movement in Ostrozava, the Crimson Front was established to combat the Fatherland Company. Composed largely of bonded Kvor, many of whom were experienced members of their local militias, the Crimson Front declared open warfare on the Fatherland Company, with members carrying out organized attacks. As the nation descended into political violence, the Hetman and the Koshovyy Otaman's central administration was powerless to intervene as the military establishment was largely either apathetic or sided with the Crimson Front. Ultimately, fear of the revolution in Ostrozava spreading in a wider form in Zamorodna galvanized the neutral political actors and industrialists to force the Crimson Front to the negotiating table. The 1910 amendment to the New Compact saw the eradication of bonded servitude and another major demographic shift.

The cessation of violence was accompanied by another set of changes, however. The sovyety which harboured the Crimson Front saw radical internal political reform, effectively creating a number of socialist communes within the federation of Zamorodnian stanytsy. The activities of the Fatherland Company were ostensibly permitted to continue, though individual stanytsy began to crackdown their crimes, especially in communities where newly freed Kvor and Staryzamians overturned the political status quo. The Fatherland Company continued to exist as a reactionary organization until it faded from existence in the 1930s.

Modern era

With the most recent major political reformation of Zamorodna complete by the 1920s, industrialization entered into full swing. The mid-20th century saw the development of more intensive extraction industries, including mining and mechanized agriculture. After significant continued agitation, suffrage in democratic stanysty was extended to women in the 1940s and '50s. In practice, universal suffrage in the vote to confirm the appointment of the Hetman was introduced in 1962. Through the tumultuous era of the 1950s and 1960s in Eastern Belisaria, Zamorodna remained neutral and co-founded the Quadripartite Pact for the protection of smaller nations among larger military powers in the region.

Geography

Zamorodna is a relatively flat, low-lying, landlocked plain, dotted with extensive swamplands and forest groves. The predominant climate is humid continental. Summers are hot and humid while winters are exceedingly cold. The transitional seasons of fall and spring are particularly long, wet, and muddy. Despite cold winters and extensive wetlands, the land is extremely fertile and well-suited to both cereal agriculture and livestock grazing due to heavy pockets of chernozem soil, in contrast with the common, sandy, and less fertile podzol soil common in the rest of the region.

The Zamorodnian plain was formed through the world's last major glaciation period, receding from the Nordic Sea to the mountains to the south. The major breaks in the flat topography are primarily light foothills in the south and moraines in the north. A number of rivers cut through the geography, most draining into the Nordic Sea though a number flow southwest to Lake Kupalnitsa.

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  Moraine formations

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  Wetland brush

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  Oilseed fields

Government and politics

The Bronzovyy Palats in Kostyanopol, meeting place of the Starshyna Rada

The Zamorodnian Hetmanate is, in effect, a confederation of different Kvor polities descended from the hosts that migrated to occupy the present area of Zamorodna. These 15 polities are referred to collectively as the stanytsy (singular: stanytsya) but belong specifically to one of two categories. Most of the stanytsy are osavulships, ruled by osavuls who obtain their positions by inheritance or appointment, generally for set terms but in some instances for life. The second and less common stanytsy are the sovyets where democratically elected councils occupy both the roles of osavuls and judges.

The Zolotyy Palats, offices of the Hetman

At the upper level of the Hetmanate's government, is the Starshyna Rada, or "Elder Council". The Starshyna Rada is composed of the 15 elders of the stanytsy. The process for appointing an elder varies according to the stanytsya. The Starhyna Rada meets at Kostyanopol at least yearly, and every three years it appoints a Koshovyy Otaman ("Domestic Executor") who in turn appoints a Hetman ("Chief Executor") to act as the head of state of the Hetmanate. Both candidates are then subject to ratification by a popular referendum.

The Sribnyy Palats, offices of the Koshovyy Otaman

Traditionally, an individual is limited to two terms as either Koshovyy Otaman or Hetman, though this rule is not always observed in practice by the Starhyna Rada. Some conflict between the incumbent executors and the Starshyna Rada has occurred in the past and the peaceful transfer of power is not universal. The elders of the Starshyna Rada remain, effectively, the chief representatives of their respectively stanytsy and can withhold the military power from the Hetman if they deem it necessary.

Each of the executors has different roles and responsibilities. The Koshovyy Otaman appoints members of federal courts, acts as supreme justice, manages land division between the stanytsy, manages federal lands, and exercises taxation and budgeting. The annual tax and budget plan, however, must be approved by the Starshyna Rada. The Hetman is charged with managing foreign relations, the organization of the military, public education, and any residual responsibilities of a federal nature. The stanytsy are otherwise free to manage affairs of a local nature, land division and management within the borders of the stanytsya, and the budgeting and taxation of their own programs.

Laws and justice

The Midnyy Palats, house of the federal courts

The legal system of the Zamorodnian Hetmanate is a common law system with no written constitution. Courts apply principles established in time immemorial to cases presented before them. Most of these principles come from the Kvor peoples but a limited number of principles of land division are derived from Staryzamian traditions.

Courts are also, in a way, the major legislative bodies. Rather than a parliament or an individual Rada drafting or proposing legislation, any Zamorodnian is entitled to put an issue before the courts, even a hypothetical issue. The court is only obligated to hear cases that directly affect an individual's rights or property but may grant leave to hear hypotheticals or create their own hypotheticals to be heard. Thus, the court may render preemptive decisions on how the common law principles of Zamorodna may apply to a given hypothetical and any future cases. The ultimate legal distinction between the osavulships and the sovyets is that the former is managed by a singular executor who appoints the courts, while the latter is often a group of judges who are popularly elected and also manage executive tasks.

Administrative subdivisions

Name	Capital	Emblem	Population	Type	Starshyy
Sertsys'ka Serednya	Kostyanopol		2,803,735	Sovyet	Ondrey Premysluk Shumeyko
Pyvnychny Bolota	Barabanopol		1,963,452	Osavulship	Petr Olehuk Petrenko
Karashch	Doshchovysto		1,519,499	Sovyet	Olha Vasylchuks'ka Zhdanyva
Shchytsyn	Svyatyy Mayklhorod		1,496,952	Osavulship	Bondar Ylyuk Federenko
Verhny Potyk	Shumhorod		1,264,517	Osavulship	Mykyta Mykytanuk Belesarenko
Pshenytsyn	Mysto-Zamok Pshenets		1,075,923	Sovyet	Bohdan Oleksandruk Melnyk
Katyvyna	Katyhorodka		758,832	Osavulship	Martyn Volodymyruk Koval'
Nyzhny Potyk	Eshchyn		713,605	Osavulship	Yevhenya Antonuks'ka Huperyvna
Shlashkya	Petrohorod		662,648	Osavulship	Prokop Yvanuk Nosach
Pyvdenny Bolota	Kosutyn		542,421	Osavulship	Les' Lavrynuk Hryshenko
Hrodnyv	Hrodnyv		456,727	Osavulship	Hryhoryy Fylonuk Fyodoryvych
Nerovya	Zamok Nero		371,660	Osavulship	Oleksandr Olehuk Pototsky
Kozelets	Ypelnych'horod		262,923	Osavulship	Yvan Petruk Vyhyvsky
Dalekosych	Myshchy Zurychy		215,966	Sovyet	Vyacheslyv Dmytryuk Nykonyv
Sars'ka Spyl'nota	Sarsky Myr		187,151	Osavulship	Lukyan Maksymuk Barabash

Osavulship

The headquarters of Barabash VRK AOV, de facto seat of power in Sars'ka Spyl'nota

Of the 15 stanytsy in the Zamorodnian Hetmanate, eleven are osavulships. An osavulship is a polity governed by an osavul. The process for appointing or electing an osavul can vary, but typically the osavul is either a hereditary position or it falls to the eldest of the community. In two cases, Nerovya and Sars'ka Spyl'nota, the osavul is an elected position. Regardless, after assuming the role, an osavul governs for life or until they step down.

The other key aspect of an osavulship is the independent judiciary. Judges are appointed by the osavul but otherwise, act independently. The osavul has the power to govern the osavulship in all local matters but does not have the right to make unilateral decrees. Any decree that an osavul wishes to make must be considered by the local judiciary. The osavul is also the starshyy of their osavulship, though they may elect to delegate this responsibility to a subordinate.

Sovyet

The Z'yyzdu Sovyety of Pshenytsyn

Despite being outnumbered by the more autocratic osavulship, the sovyets generally count among the more populous and powerful stanytsy in Zamorodna. The sovyets, or "council realms", are characterized by more democratic governance in addition to a blended legislative, judicial, and executive system. At the centre of a sovyet is the rada ("council"). The members of the rada are collectively elected by their communities for fixed terms as judges. During the first meeting of a new rada, executive roles are distributed by consensus.

Legislative functions are effectively undertaken by the members of the rada through the legal reference system. In sufficiently large communities, the rada may delegate most of its criminal and civil judicial functions to a certain number of its members while the rest abstain from adjudicating legal matters in order to more effectively conduct their other functions. The starshyy of a sovyet is typically appointed at the introduction of a new rada, though occasionally the role will be left vacant until shortly before the Starshyna Rada is convened.

Military

Main article: Zamorodnian Combined Militia

The military forces of the Zamorodnian Hetmanate are organized at a local level, with each stanytsya responsible for forming a militia. The Hetman is responsible for the organization of all the elements of the armed forces, and coordinates air units directly, even if the air assets are technically on loan from the stanytsy. Forces on loan to the Hetman are referred to as the Zamorodnian Combined Militia. Exact figures for the numbers of active service, reservists, and able combatants are difficult to ascertain, particularly as certain stanytsy only assemble units when necessary, but provide universal training, including to people who would be unfit for actual service. An estimate of active service members would be approximately 60,000. Reservist forces likely number over two million.

The Kvor people have a martial tradition and private ownership of weapons for hunting, farm management, and self-defense is common. While not technologically cutting edge or particularly innovative, Zamorodna also has a healthy domestic arms manufacturing industry. At least two internationally prominent private military companies are based in Zamorodna. The most famous private security and defense services provider from Zamorodna is Barabash VRK.

Economy

Zamorodna has a primarily free market economy with elements of a dual economy in some areas. In two sovyets, market socialist and communalist economic modes are more prevalent. At the federal level, elements of a mixed economy are minimal and the majority of divergent economic regulation or lack thereof occurs at the level of the stanytsya. Unemployment and underemployment are major issues in Zamorodna at present.

Fertile chernozem field in Katyvyna

The gross domestic product per capita is $9,805.27, with major disparities between dual economy osavulships, socialist sovyets, and capitalist osavulships and sovyets. Zamorodna is in the lower third of countries in the world in terms of the size of its economy both nominally and in proportion to its population. The Gini score, measuring wealth inequality, is moderate. Zamorodna's human development index score is moderate-to-low in comparison with other countries in the world.

Zamorodna's economy is largely self-sufficient but has a strong import/export component. Natural and mineral resources, grains, animal products, and other raw materials are the major exports of the country, while complex manufactured goods, alternative foodstuffs, and luxury goods are major imports.

Major industries

Approximately one-third of Zamorodnians maintain pastoral lifestyles and economic modes of life. The pastoral industry is split relatively evenly between dual economy traditionalists and conventional capitalist industrial animal agriculture. Horticulture is the next largest industrial sector by participation and the largest in terms of measured economic product. Major horticultural products include oilseeds, wheat, buckwheat, barley, and common vegetables. Mining and logging are the next two biggest industries with various forms of processing and manufacturing following suit.

Copper mine in Nyzhny Potyk

Informal economy

Despite traditional, non-market modes of living occupying approximately one-sixth of Zamorodna's labour participation, proportionally little of the product of these activities are measured as official economic product due to the prevalence of informal exchange in the country. The informal economy extends past pastoral lifestyles and includes many participants in extractive and processing industries as well. In addition, many participants in the informal economy also nominally participate in the formal economy on a near-full or part-time basis.

Traditional pastoral community in Kozelets

Some elements of the informal economy use alternative currencies including tokens, foreign currencies, or goods with a stable value. Other parts rely entirely on barter exchange or various forms of reciprocal exchange. Informal reciprocal exchange economies are especially common in socialist sovyets and small traditional communities. Tokens and company scrip are frequently used in communities built around major industrial complexes.

Infrastructure

Zamorodna has very little public infrastructure and inter-stanytsy transportation and electricity networks have always been privately held with minimal standardization. As a consequence, among the nine railways that operate in Zamorodna, there are four different rail gauges in use. Road networks crossing borders require tolls to cross in either direction in 14 out of 15 stanytsy, though driving on the right side of the road was standardized by general consent in 1954.

The primary source of electricity in Zamorodna is coal power, with some hydroelectric generation in two sovyets. Each stanytsy generally has its own powerplants and either purchases its own coal domestically or imports oil from abroad. Power is not commodified for sale across internal borders at this time.

Demographics

The population of Zamorodna is estimated at 14,293,012 as of 2021. The urban/rural divide across the population is roughly even, with 53.8% of the population living in cities. Zamorodnian cities tend to be highly dense, slightly skewing population density. Rural communities in the country tend to be small and sparsely populated, with small communities sprawled across long distances.

In terms of human statistics, life expectancy is moderate with a significant gender gap. Male-identified persons have a life expectancy of 67 while female-identified persons have a life expectancy of 77 years, for an average of 72 years. The gap in life expectancy has been attributed to a variety of factors, chiefly workplace hazards and risky behaviour. Leading causes of death across all sexes and genders are heart disease, liver disease, vehicle or machinery accidents, and old age illnesses.

Kvor man in traditional dress and haircut, playing the bandura

Unemployment is presently a major social and demographic issue for Zamorodnians.

Language and ethnicity

The dominant ethnic group in Zamorodna is the Dvor. In general, ethnic groups are defined along linguistic lines. However, some communities are more strongly defined by kinship ties. The other major exception is between the Dvor and the Staryzamians which largely share the same language. Most Staryzamians were subjugated and assimilated by the Dvor centuries ago. The remaining people who continue to identify as such typically live in remote communities, intentionally isolated from the rest of Zamorodna. Staryzamians have been historically subjected to violence and discrimination.

The Zamorodnian language, adopted by the Kvor, is primarily still a Ludic language with some imported Turkic influences. The language of the Staryzamians had begun to diverge from other Ludic languages in the 14th century. The language of the Staryzamians in the 13th to 15th-centuries is typically referred to as Early Zamorodnian. The Great Kvor Migration which began in the latter half of that century accelerated the differentiation, but in a different direction. Middle Zamorodnian is considered to have been heavily Turkified before gradually succumbing to Ludic influences from its neighbours, forming the modern Zamorodnian language.

Religion

Lavra of Saint Myhayla Taksyarha in Shumhorod

The Kvor people descended from Qavar tribes in the 14th century which had adopted the Jewish faith. The migrating Kvor maintained their faith and established religious communities in the cities in which they settled. To the present day, Judaism remains the dominant faith of Zamorodna, followed closely by various denominations of Nazarism and distantly by irreligion. Docetic Nazarism was the common religion of the Staryzamians and subsequently was adopted by a large portion of the settled migrants. The older form of Alban Nazarism also gained prominence following the Belisarian Wars of Religion.

Zamorodna presently and historically lacks religious unity. Sectarian violence became common in the 17th and 18th centuries but declined in the following centuries. Religious differences remain the source of deep divisions in the present day.

Education and healthcare

Education is a matter of local jurisdiction in Zamorodnian law. In practice, all but a couple of stanytsy have single-payer primary education and most have public secondary education. Three stanytsy have public post-secondary education schemes. There are no consistent standards for what curriculum is taught or for the qualifications of educators. Many schools, especially in rural areas, are oriented heavily toward vocational training or apprenticeships. There are three major universities in Zamorodna: the Kostyanopol Institute for Post-Secondary Education, the Baraban Academy, and the Karashch'skyy Sovyet University.

Healthcare follows a similar pattern to education, wherein there is no nationwide mandate for public healthcare services, but a broad portion of stanytsy provide single-payer services in at least some capacity. Only two osavulships do not have any form of public health coverage whatsoever. Two sovyets rely entirely on public health services in most circumstances, though certain specialist treatments may need to be sought elsewhere.

Culture

Folk art of a Kvors'kyy Kobzar, c. 1730

The culture of Zamorodna has been formed over nearly a millennium by many different elements. These include the Aletheic Church and its branches, Qavar traditions, and the different ways of living of its inhabitants. In many ways, including architecturally and linguistically, Zamorodna is a bridge between the east and the west. Equestrian and pastoralist traditions tie the nation to its eastern heritage while religious and architectural traditions have been modified by the west.

Zamorodnian literature has two major traditions. The first tradition is that of the Kvors'kyy Kobzar, or the Kvor Bardic tradition. The Kobzar tradition contains stories of honourable or mischievous but goodnatured heroes, often in wartime settings. The second major tradition is called the Bahno or "muck" tradition. These stories have gritty and nihilistic themes, set either in wartime or in more mundane settings. Bahno writings tend to philosophize either in the text or directly through asides written by the author between chapters.

Music and dance

The Zamorodnian traditions of music and dance were largely imported from its eastern heritage and blended with endemic sounds and instruments. Traditional singing includes rhythmic chanting and cheering in driving cadences. String instruments are most common in traditional music, including the kobza, the torban, and the bandura. In the mid-20th century, jazz music, called "dzhaz", became popular in Zamorodna, melded with local music. In the present day, Zamorodna is occasionally referred to as the Eastern Belisarian Capital of Jazz.

The quintessential Kvor dance is the Hopak, a carefully choreographed and often acrobatic dance performed solo or in groups of any gender composition. The Hopak is often practiced by militia members and athletes as general exercise. The Boyovyy Hopak, or "Combat Hopak", was developed in the 20th century as a Zamorodnian martial art based on the dance. The "Equestrian Combat Hopak" is reportedly being developed by a troupe in Kostyanopol.

Cuisine

Rice and meat holobchy

On account of its fertile soil and intersection of cultures, Zamorodna has a rich culinary tradition. Dishes are typically made from a multitude of ingredients, most of which are produced locally. A typical diet is heavy in both dairy and gluten. Major spices include black pepper, paprika, dill, and beetroot. Herkyns and other pickled vegetables are also common.

Thick boryshch

The most well-known dishes from Zamorodna are boryshch, varenyky, and holobchy which are all consumed either as lunch or dinner foods. Rye bread, heavy sour cream, and salted beef accompany these meals. For breakfasts, cold bread, milk, and porridge are common. In terms of caffeinated beverages, tea consumption edges out coffee among Zamorodnians, typically consumed with milk and honey.

The national alcoholic beverage of Zamorodna is horylka, produced from grain or sugar beets and typically distilled to 20% alcohol per volume. Horylka is occasionally distilled to 40% alcohol but this is more commonly known as samohon. Pertsyvka is another variant of the beverage produced with hot peppers. Consumption of potato-derived vodka is also common. Beer and wine have less cultural prominence but are also homebrewed, typically in urban centres where private acquisition of a distillery may be difficult.